Slate Wars: 15 Tablets That Could Rival Apple's iPad

The iPad has captured many hearts and minds, but a fleet of rival tablets led by a separatist Android army is about to attack, armed with HD Flash video, multitouch screens, front-facing cameras, multitasking...even Windows 7. Let's take a look.

Microsoft Courier
One tablet that might match Apple in user interface innovation is the mysterious Microsoft Courier, a folding dual-screen device that's more of a pen and touch-controlled digital journal/eReader than a media tablet along the lines of the iPad. Despite several leaks and supposed slip-ups, will the Courier make the leap from concept to consumer item? Maybe. Citing an "extremely trusted source," Engadget recently reported that the Courier is on track for the second half of 2010, will use nVidia's Tegra 2 chip, and will run the same OS platform as Microsoft's Zune HD and Windows Mobile 7 Series Phones. Fingers crossed that Redmond achieves something special here. Image credit: Engadget (where you can also watch a video of the Courier's interface in action).
Rumored specs...
OS: Based on the Windows CE 6 kernel (also the basis for Windows Phone 7 smartphones and the Zune HD)
Key specs: Twin multitouch screens capable of pen input, nVidia Tegra 2 processors
Other features: Pen-centric interface with handwriting recognition
Size and weight: Less than 1 inch thick, About 5 by 7 by less than 1 inch (height by width by thickness) when closed; weight will be a little over 1 pound
Due: Second half of 2010
Price: Unknown

Dell Mini 5 (Streak)
Dell is working on a "family of tablets," the first of which will be its Android tablet--perhaps under the model name Mini 5 or Streak. This unit's 5-inch multitouch display is more pocket-friendly than the ones on most upcoming tablets, but it's also larger than the displays on most smartphones (yes, the Mini 5 can make calls). It also has a front-facing camera (for video chat), voice recognition, a speedy 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, and various color options. Picture courtesy of Engadget, which recently posted Dell documents suggesting that Amazon apps for books, video, and music could come preinstalled as well. This is definitely a contender to watch.
OS: Android 2.x
Key specs: 5-inch LED-backlit, capacitive multitouch display (800 by 480 pixels), 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU, 405MB of DRAM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G
Other features: 5-megapixel camera with dual LED flash, second front-facing camera (648 by 480 pixels), SIM card and microSD card slots, GPS
Size and weight: About 5.9 by 3.1 by 0.4 inches (height by width by thickness); 8 ounces
Due: Unconfirmed, but expected around June 2010
Price: Unknown

iPad Alternatives
So the iPad has arrived to what can only be described as excessive fanfare. But will tablets become the gadget of choice for consumers who want to kick back and browse the Web, check e-mail, read an e-book or magazine, play games, or watch a movie? It's debatable: Tablets have tanked in the past. And yet a number of industry analysts believe that the iPad will kick-start a new category of media tablets that could become huge by 2015.
iPad rivals will struggle to equal its slick user experience (familiar interface, iBooks, iTunes, and the App Store), but Apple alternatives do offer a broad range of choices related to shape, size, and screen--not to mention Webcams, USB slots, and HDMI ports. Many tablets pair Windows 7 with an Intel Atom processor, or combine nVidia's Tegra 2 chip with Android, Chrome OS, or Linux. Multitasking? Check. Accelerated high-def Flash video? You betcha

HP Slate
It wasn't the Courier tablet that many attendees hoped Steve Ballmer would pull out of his hat at CES in January, but HP's slate PC (don't call it a tablet!) is shaping up as a strong alternative to the iPad. It doesn't have an official name yet, but some of its specs--including a 10-inch multitouch screen, Windows 7, and support for hardware-accelerated Flash video playback--are public knowledge. Running Amazon's Kindle app could be pretty neat on this thing. HP reportedly is also working on a range of tablets, one of which is a miniature Android device intended to compete with the 5-inch Dell Streak.
OS: Windows 7
Key specs: 10-inch multitouch display, processor unknown, Atom processor, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, possible back-mounted camera
Other features: 3D Accelerated Flash (unknown whether this means it has a Broadcom Crystal HD Accelerator or nVidia Ion graphics)
Size and weight: Unknown
Due: Later this year (June is the rumored target month)
Price: Expected to be less than the price of an entry-level iPad with 3G ($US629).

MSI Tegra 2 Tablet
MSI is best known for netbooks these days, so it's no surprise that the company plans to produce an as-yet-unnamed tablet. The prototype Android "mPad" shown at CES had a 10-inch touchscreen, a Tegra 2 processor, HD Flash support, and an HDMI output. The finished tablet will probably cost around $500 and may arrive later this year. No doubt we'll learn more at the Computex Taipei Expo in June. Image credit and more information: DigiTimes.
OS: Android 2.x
Key specs: 10-inch touchscreen, nVidia Tegra 2 graphics and dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU, 3G, Wi-Fi
Other features: HDMI output, SD Card slot
Size and weight: Unknown
Due: Possibly second half of 2010
Price: Expected to be around $500

Fusion Garage JooJoo
The notorious CrunchPad-turned-JooJoo tablet has just started shipping, and--as you can see--the interface has come a long way from where it was when we tested a preproduction model back in December 2009. The $499 slate has a big 12.1-inch capacitive multitouch display and runs Ubuntu Linux with a custom interface. It can play Flash video out of the box, and it will be able to handle high-def Flash once Flash 10.1 arrives. Unfortunately, the JooJoo only uses first-generation Ion graphics, its apps are all Web-based, and the $499 price fetches a machine with only 4GB of storage--albeit on a solid-state drive.
OS: Ubuntu Linux with custom WebKit-based browser interface
Key specs: 12.1-inch capacitive multitouch display (1366 by 768 pixels), 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, nVidia Ion graphics, 1GB of RAM, 4GB solid-state drive, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Other features: Built-in still/video camera, accelerometer, ambient light sensor
Size and weight: 12.8 by 7.8 by 0.7 inches (height by width by maximum thickness); 2.4 pounds
Due: Available now
Price: $499

Axiotron Modbook Pro
Ask Andreas Haas, the former head of Apple's Newton group, what he thinks of the iPad, and he'll tell you that "it's not a tablet; it's an extension of the iPod Touch." His company, Axiotron, is developing the Modbook Pro--a touch-enabled version of the pen-based, professionally finished Mac tablets that the business creates by converting MacBook laptops. Today you can buy pen-only Modbooks ready-made, or you can send your own MacBook to Axiotron, and the company will transform it into a Modbook for $700. The touch-capable Modbook Pro is should appear later this year, and it will probably cost quite a bit more than that.

Netbook Tablets
If you like the idea of flicking through Web pages or e-books by touch, but you don't want to give up your physical keyboard, a netbook equipped with a swiveling screen could be a good compromise choice. Over the next few months, several new "netvertibles" (hmm, wonder if this means that the Internet's backbone will soon become known as the "netvertebrate"?) will emerge, including the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3T (available now), Viliv S10 Blade, Asus Eee PC T101MT and the Gigabyte Touch Note T1000P. Each will have a 10.1-inch multitouch display, run Windows 7, and cost around $500 bucks. That's cheaper than standard 12.1-inch convertibles such as the multitouch-capable HP TouchSmart tm2t and Lenovo ThinkPad X201T.

ICD Ultra
Innovative Converged Devices' 7-inch Ultra tablet is yet another upcoming pairing of Tegra 2 and Android, but ICD's offering will emphasize affordability. The Ultra is expected to start at just $250 (without carrier subsidies) when it reaches the market at midyear. Its features will include 4GB of internal flash memory, HD video playback, and optional 3G. Interestingly, Verizon used an Ultra in January to demonstrate its next-generation 4G LTE wireless network; and the Ultra's big brother (the 15.6-inch ICD Vega) is headed to T-Mobile in the UK before the end of the year.
OS: Android 2.0
Key specs: 7-inch resistive single-touch display (1024 by 600 pixels or 800 by 480 pixels, capacitive versions are expected as well), 1GHz nVidia Tegra 2 (TegraT20) CPU, 256MB of RAM and 512MB of ROM, 4GB of internal flash memory (nonremovable), 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G option
Other features: Front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for videoconferencing, mini HDMI output, microSD card slot, SIM card slot, accelerometer, FM radio, ambient light sensor, GPS option
Size and weight: 7.3 by 6.2 by 0.7 inches (height by width by thickness); 1.3 pounds or less
Due: By June 2010
Price: Expected to start at $250, without carrier subsidies

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